ASTON Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov is determined to be reacquainted with European football after sacrificing regular Champions League action to play in England.

ASTON Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov is determined to be reacquainted with European football after sacrificing regular Champions League action to play in England.

Petrov admits he misses the big European nights, which were a regular feature of his career with Celtic.

The Bulgarian played for the Hoops in the 2003 UEFA Cup final when Celtic lost in extra-time against Porto and was a key figure in Celtic's impressive home form during various Champions League campaigns under Martin O'Neill.

And while Petrov plays in Villa's opening match against Liverpool on Saturday, his former Celtic team-mates will be preparing for a trip to Spartak Moscow in the Champions League.

Villa briefly threatened to push for Europe during O'Neill and Petrov's first campaign but their early-season form soon faded away.

A late rally saw Villa finish 11th though and Petrov is eager to push into the upper echelons of the Barclays Premier League.

He said: "Everybody misses European games, I miss them but that's what we are aiming for at Villa.

"We have worked hard although the previous season wasn't so good for us, but this year we are looking forward to the start of the new season. We want to achieve something and make the fans happy. And we hope that we can take this team to Europe and play again in European football."

Villa have been buoyed by a 3-0 friendly victory over Italian champions Inter Milan and Petrov hopes they can hit the ground running in the league.

He said: "We had a very good pre-season, we worked very hard, we played some friendlies and played quite strongly.

"We have played well but what will matter is from Saturday and I hope the form we have shown in pre-season, we will show from the start of the season."

Petrov was back in Glasgow to promote the launch of Setanta's coverage of the English top flight, which begins at Villa Park on Saturday.

But while O'Neill has raided West Ham for striker Marlon Harewood and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, the TV cameras are likely to focus more on Liverpool's big-name signings, especially #20million striker Fernando Torres.

Villa have been outdone in the transfer market by a number of clubs this summer, most recently when Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon opted to join Sunderland instead of pursuing talks with the midlands side.

But Petrov has no doubt O'Neill will strengthen the squad.

The 28-year-old said: "The manager will sign more, there is another three weeks to go before the transfer window closes. He is a great manager and he has assured everybody there will be more signings, and he will try to push Villa to a better place this season."

O'Neill is understood to be investigating the possibility of taking Liverpool keeper Scott Carson on loan, having also checked out Bolton's Jussi Jaaskelainen, who has only one year left of his current contract.

Stuart Taylor will be between the posts for Saturday's Barclays Premier League opener with Rafael Benitez's side because of Thomas Sorensen's hamstring injury. But with Academy player David Bevan the only other fit keeper O'Neill is looking at his options.

Carson, linked with Birmingham earlier in the summer, spent last season on loan at Charlton and is stil second in line to Jose Reina at Anfield but, even if taken on loan by Villa, would not be eligible under league rules to face his current employers this weekend.